The Civilization Mission Which Had A Great Impact In History (Essay Sample)

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The Civilization Mission
The 18th century was an era of radical reorientation of politics, science, communication and philosophy in medieval Europe (Monatschrift et al.). These changes marked what came to be known as the Age of Reason or simply, the Enlightenment by its participants. Key scientists, politicians and philosophers campaigned for a society governed by reasons rather than traditional authority (Monatschrift et al.). As a result, books, articles, inventions, discoveries, wars, and revolutions, were promoted with an intention of improving humanity. In England, the early Enlightenment dates back to the 1680s. Isaac Newton published his first work on ‘Principia Mathematica’ while John Locke wrote his ‘Essay Concerning Human Understanding’ (Monatschrift et al.). These works formed the foundations for mathematical, philosophical and scientific significant strides witnessed presently.
While Europe and North America made major advancements regarding technology, governance and economic developments, African and the rest of the world remained largely ‘primitive’ and underdeveloped (Adas 69). Their ways of life were mostly seen as savage and barbaric, with despotic leaders who were only interested in warfare. The European rulers, therefore, felt it their responsibility to bring Western civilization to what they considered backward Africa (Adas 69). This civilization mission was to westernize the African people per the Enlightenment thinkers’ ideologies. Missionaries and reformers rushed to Africa with an intention of spreading religious principles and education. The group was quickly followed by others who advocated for colonial expansion as a means of promoting Christianity, good governance and economic development (Adas 69).
This quest for African’s Enlightenment is what led to the full-blown scramble and the eventual partitioning of Africa in 1884 (Rodney 136). Around this time, European powers were fighting one another for territories, expansion space for their economic ventures and markets for their produce. Africa, Asia, and parts of South America constituted some of their primary expansion targets for they remained mostly unexploited. For some countries like Portugal, though, Africa presented an excellent opportunity for then their immediate needs to revamp their ailing economies (Rodney 136). To understand this unscrupulous tearing and grabbing of whatever piece of Africa by our more enlightened European ‘robbers,' it is entirely appropriate to review the sequence of events that necessitated and finally gave way for it.
Centuries before colonization, Africa was mostly communal and feudal. Europe on the other side, having embraced Enlightenment ideologies, was completely capitalist (Rodney 135). The European economy was booming, and the competition was stiffening. Those who were out-competed in their native countries were forced to look for other opportunities abroad, and so they moved their trade to Africa, Asia and other underexploited states of Latin America (Rodney 136). As a result, their businesses grew and attracted even more attention from their counterparts, monopolies and even governments about their new found ‘goldmines.' Shortly after, every route was leading to Africa: spreading foreign capitalism on their way and thus heigh...